Professor Kim Hyun (age 38) of the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology (Seoul Tech) has been selected as a recipient of the Young Scientist Award, jointly presented by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE; President: Prof. Kathleen A. Kramer, University of San Diego) and the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers (IEIE; President: Professor Baek Gwang-hyun at Choong-ang University). The award is sponsored by the Haedong Science and Culture Foundation (Chairman: Kim Young-jae, CEO of Daeduck Electronics). The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 26, at Lotte Hotel, Jeju.

Professor Kim is a leading expert in artificial intelligence semiconductors, with research spanning architecture-level, algorithm-level, and memory-level integration under the broader theme of AI semiconductor digital design. He has authored more than 60 journal articles and over 240 conference papers, making significant contributions to the advancement of AI accelerator design, AI model optimization, and AI-specialized memory development. 

In addition to his academic achievements, Professor Kim has played key leadership roles within Korea’s academic community, serving as an executive member of various societies including the IEIE and as an organizer of major academic conferences. He has also contributed his expertise to national policymaking through advisory roles and evaluation committees for government agencies related to semiconductors. Internationally, Professor Kim was named an IEEE Senior Member at a notably young age. He currently plays a pivotal role in the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society, serving on both editorial boards and organizing committees for global academic conferences. 

Through his dynamic research and academic contributions both in Korea and abroad, Professor Kim has advanced Korea’s semiconductor scholarship, elevated the country’s international standing, and fostered global academic exchange. He is widely recognized as a promising leader who will shape the future of Korea’s semiconductor industry.

This year’s selection process emphasized technical practicality, social and environmental contributions, and creativity. Korea is one of nine countries—including France, Iceland, Chile, India, Uruguay, Peru, Singapore, and South Africa—that have established joint awards with IEEE Headquarters.